|
|
"Paradise Lost's "Draconian Times" is a monument to heavy metal, and quite simply one of the best records released in the genre in the 90s."
|
5/5
|
|
|
|
Giving a sequel to a great record is a tricky business, and Paradise Lost took almost two years to polish up the follow-up to "Icon", their gothic, melancholy nugget. The latter was a real achievement for the English and it seemed almost impossible to do as well. Against all odds, Paradise Lost is going to do just as well, if not better.
For the first time in its career, the band doesn't evolve much, but slightly changes its formula to offer the golden twin of "Icon". The gothic heavy metal of "Draconian Times" becomes accessible and bewitching, the death aspects have completely disappeared and Holmes displays a very varied vocal palette.
The album is packed with chilling and melancholy tracks: 'Enchantment' fully deserves its title, with its gentle, symphonic introduction followed by deeper passages, and 'Forever Failure' is a total success, with Charles Manson's spoken passages, inhabited vocals and a dark, desperate aspect that the chorus magnifies. As for 'Elusive Cure', with its restrained main riff, it's a marvel of heavy gothic sensibility, again with a splendid chorus.
More typically Heavy Metal, we find 'Hallowed Land', a huge hit with powerful, direct vocals magnified by a sensitive, moving piano chorus, 'The Last Time', more direct with a simple, powerful riff, and 'Once Solemn', which will delight fans of the genre. Finally, more discreet but nonetheless essential, tracks such as 'Shadow Kings', 'Yearn For Change' and 'I See Your Face' show Paradise Lost at ease in this heavy gothic register, between power and soothing, with the famous riff or solo taking the listener into a dark, icy whirlpool.
Sadness and melancholy have never been so beautiful! In just two discs, Paradise Lost is on the verge of the divine. Even more than on "Icon", it manages to convey every emotion with elegance. More than a monument to the band, "Draconian Times" is a monument to heavy metal, and one of the best records released in the genre in the '90s. - Official website
|
|
|
|
|
TRACK LISTING:
01. Enchantment (06:03)
02. Hallowed Land (05:02)
03. The Last Time (03:27)
04. Forever Failure (04:18)
05. Once Solemn (03:03)
06. Shadow Kings (04:41)
07. Elusive Cure (03:21)
08. Yearn For Change (04:19)
09. Shades Of God (03:54)
10. Hands Of Reason (03:58)
11. I See Your Face (03:17)
12. Jaded (03:26)
LINEUP:
Aaron Aedy: Guitares
Greg Mackintosh: Guitares
Lee Morris: Batterie
Nick Holmes: Chant
Steve Edmondson: Basse
|
|
| |
|
(0) MIND(S) FROM OUR READERS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top of the page
|
| |
|
|
(1) COMMENT(S)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
READERS
4.2/5 (4 view(s))
|
STAFF:
4.4/5 (5 view(s))
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
IN RELATION WITH PARADISE LOST
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LAST INTERVIEW
PARADISE LOST (MARCH 2020)
|
|
The representatives of gothic metal are back with a new album, "Obsidian", that guitarist Greg Mackintosh came to present to Music Waves readers.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
OTHER REVIEWS
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
OTHER(S) REVIEWS ABOUT PARADISE LOST
|
|